17 replies to this topic

[Lucullus]

Not really a film medium, but still with an emulsion photo-sensitive layer on glass: is it known which was the last glass plate ever exposed?

[MGAR]

Not really a film medium, but still with an emulsion photo-sensitive layer on glass: is it known which was the last glass plate ever exposed?

Still going strong, I've shot their 5x7 plates a couple of years ago.

 

Cheers!

Gary

[Couder]

Thanks for that info. I figured my camera was totally useless now.

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[EJN]

See this thread last year - The Great Orion Nebula on Dry Plate:

 

https://www.cloudyni...a-on-dry-plate/

[TOMDEY]

The Kodak Glass Plates were wonderful because of dimensional stability. I used those in my press camera for constellation shots. 4x5-inch glass plates. They were available in Ektachrome, Tech Pan, Kodachrome, and Kodacolor. I hydrogen gas-hypered them in my own tank in the basement. The biggest ones were --- I think it was 14x14 which were used in the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt Cameras. I worked at Kodak at the time and got them at a small fraction of the high list price. The company encouraged employees to get into photography. It was a great company --- back then (1980s).    Tom

[TOMDEY]

Here's a thumbnail of one of my old constellation shots. The original is actually very high resolution and gamut. This shown here is just a picture of a print of that. And yes, I had a high-end 4x5 enlarger, 16x20 roller transport print processor, etc. etc. back then!  The planet in the middle is Jupiter.  Tom

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[Todd N]

On the professional level I'm not sure. This shows photographic surveys lasted until the early 2000's

gsss.stsci.edu/SkySurveys/Surveys.htm

 

I can't locate it but some years ago there was a story about a solar patrol in India that was still imaging the sun on glass plates.

 

 

[MGAR]

The Kodak Glass Plates were wonderful because of dimensional stability. I used those in my press camera for constellation shots. 4x5-inch glass plates. They were available in Ektachrome, Tech Pan, Kodachrome, and Kodacolor. I hydrogen gas-hypered them in my own tank in the basement. The biggest ones were --- I think it was 14x14 which were used in the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt Cameras. I worked at Kodak at the time and got them at a small fraction of the high list price. The company encouraged employees to get into photography. It was a great company --- back then (1980s).    Tom

You lived in a great era Tom. How I wish I could have experienced Tech Pan, Kodachrome and the hypering...I still have several rolls of Kodachrome in the freezer. I have a minuscule 5" Celestron Schmidt camera I still shoot Kodak 200 and c41 process it myself. Days long gone by but still nurtured by some of us.

 

Gary 

Edited by MGAR, 12 June 2022 - 09:09 PM.

[Nodda Duma]

Blake Estes shot a set of 8x10 dry plates on the 60" at Mount Wilson Observatory last year before he headed down to Australia.  He posted about it on social media.  Shot a picture of a Gibbous moon and sent me one of the plates.  I contact printed off it and sent a print back to him. It was pretty cool.  Used the same plate holder back / gear that you'd see Edwin Hubble use in photographs and 30s-50s era B&W documentaries.

 

-Jason

Edited by Nodda Duma, 13 June 2022 - 04:00 PM.

[TxStars]

I would order some boxes of 6415 & E100 plates today if they had them..

[SteveInNZ]

I took this last month on a 4x5 J. Lane Speed Plate. (C11, 30mm eyepiece projection, Speed Graphic, about 2 seconds).

I haven't got around to scanning it yet.

 

 

Steve.

 

[MGAR]

I took this last month on a 4x5 J. Lane Speed Plate. (C11, 30mm eyepiece projection, Speed Graphic, about 2 seconds).

I haven't got around to scanning it yet.

 

Moon on plate sml.jpg

 

Steve.

Whoa! Let's see that setup on your C11. I have a Anniversary 4x5 Speed Graphic that I would love to try to get a shot with my 10" Meade SCT. I do shoot 5x7 J Lane plates and they are great even at 2 asa. ;-)

 

Gary

[SteveInNZ]

The setup isn't that exciting. The scope had a diagonal with the eyepiece in it. The camera was on a tripod next to it with the lens board removed. The bellows were extended and the eyepiece sitting slightly inside the entrance. So the scope is tracking but the camera is stationary.

I focused on the ground glass, selected "T" on the shutter, loaded the plate holder and took the shot.

That makes it sound simple but there was lots of bending over at uncomfortable angles, getting things lined up while it drifted in or out of frame, etc.

 

Steve.

[SteveInNZ]

I think I was more encouraged before I scanned it.

I know that I had a lot of trouble getting it into the plate holder, so it's covered in fingerprints.

It also gets very blurry on the left. More than I'd expect from the plate not being perpendicular to the optical axis. Maybe the field curves as well. I don't know if there are any tools (like CCD Inspector) that work with moon images.

 

 

 

Steve.

 

[MGAR]

Steve

 

If you have a 4x5 enlarger you could offset it to compensate some for the blur. I have a cold light enlarger for my 4x5 anniversary that I use for printing that can handle glass plates as well as film.  

 

Gary

[ETXer]

The Kodak Glass Plates were wonderful because of dimensional stability. I used those in my press camera for constellation shots. 4x5-inch glass plates. They were available in Ektachrome, Tech Pan, Kodachrome, and Kodacolor. I hydrogen gas-hypered them in my own tank in the basement. The biggest ones were --- I think it was 14x14 which were used in the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt Cameras. I worked at Kodak at the time and got them at a small fraction of the high list price. The company encouraged employees to get into photography. It was a great company --- back then (1980s).    Tom

It wasn't that long ago I know Kodak offered TMax 100 on glass plates, but I don't know when they were discontinued.

[Lucullus]

Thanks for that info. I figured my camera was totally useless now.

Is that your equipment?!
 

[Couder]

Is that your equipment?!
 

yes